G Major Scale

The 3 Note / String 6 Note Shape is a great way to learn the Major Scale. This is a technique of breaking something down to smaller chunks to make it easier to learn. The examples below are analyzing the G Major Scale on the two lowest strings E (6th) & A (5th). A lot of people have to find a way visualize something before they can put it into their total recall memory. To also help people remember something is they have to physically apply and do something. The numbers in the notes are the finger placement (Refer to Fret Finger Placement Post) so you can try it.. This scale is made up of half steps (no frets between 2 notes) and whole steps (1 fret between 2 notes).

When you try playing these shapes (Fret 3) you are going to play them on two strings only up the neck in a straight sequence (1-2-3-4-5-6) Tablature – ( 6th E -3–5–7-) (5th A – 3 –5–7-). The top 5% best players practice scales this way up and down the neck on all the pairs of strings.(Paul Gilbert, Gregg Howe, Vinnie Moore).

One warning the shapes are going to be different between the (3rd G string & 2nd B string). The notes on the 2nd B String have to shift up a half step making the shapes offset.

When you start getting the hang of practicing scales like this you can also apply sequences to these six note groups. Sequences are a repetitive order of a group of notes. Here is an example (instead of 1-2-3-4-5-6 try 1-2-3-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5-6) this is a sequence that Paul Gilbert teaches a lot. Practicing scales like this can build great dexterity in your fingers, building your chops and speed. It especially helps if you use a metronome set to straight clicks, triplets and quadruplet, building from slow to fast.

Here is a final note, playing scales up and down and practicing sequences is only one part of the practice equation to becoming a great player. There is speed and chops, but there also is melodic control. Melodic phrasing is a small group of notes played in an unique expressive order crafted from the rhythm and harmony that can hook the listener.. The best solos have a hook melody interwoven in them (usually at he start and end and somewhere in the middles in different octaves) along with the fast ripping runs of notes. Learning licks from all kinds of sources (Books, Software, Magazines, Tablature web sites and By Ear off CD’s and MP 3’s). This article builds on my Major Scale 3 Note / String Fingerings Post.

Guitar Analyzer Software has a 3 shape fingering selection category to explore this area in more depth for each scale.

The guitar scales fret-board diagrams below are the (3 Note / String Fingerings) for the G Major Scale. The numbers in the guitar scales fret-board diagrams represent the fretting finger placement. This article builds off of my last post (Major Scale – 3 Note / String – 6 Note Shapes). This fingering is very popular for guitar players who have goals to play very fast major scale runs.These fingering are used by Classical, Jazz and Neo-Classical Metal Guitar Players or Shredding. If you want to cover a lot of notes and a lot of range these fingerings give your hand positioning and fingers easy mobility. When your first index finger is traveling to the next string it does not have to be repositioned a fret backward. It either moves to the next inline fret or forward up a half or whole step, saving re-position time on your index finger.

This is great for legato (smooth rapid succession of notes or slurs) hammer ons or pull offs. The timing is (Pick-Hammer-Hammer) foreward or (Pick-Pull-Pull) backward and it is a very easy way to play fast sounding runs. This is also great for staccato picking all the notes. You can develop your alternate picking speed because of three picking directions per string. (down-up-down) (up-down -up). Your guitar fretting fingers start getting a spidery feeling traversing the strings.

The guitar players that use these 3 note / string fingerings a lot are Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore and Tony McAlpine. Depending of the size of your hand. The whole-step whole-step patterns per string are played more commonly with the (1st index finger), (2nd Middle), (4th Pinky). Players with larger hands are more comfortable with using their ring finger (1st index finger), (3nd Ring), (4th Pinky) as the guitar scales fret-board diagrams below. All the guitar fret-board diagrams below can be created with Guitar Analyzer Software for all the scale roots.